“I would expect all City of Perth councillors to assess this fairly,in accordance with both the Planning Act and also the Local Government Act,they should not be taking positions before the planning matter or the report is provided to them,” Carey said.
As Planning Minister,Carey has the power to call in a planning proposal rejected by a local government that ends up in the State Administrative Tribunal,as his predecessor Rita Saffioti did for Ruah in 2022.
He said he would not pre-empt the council’s decision.
Zempilas said he had not been provided with the UnitingWA report or been in touch with Carey and declined to comment further.
He has previously lashed the state government for its rhetoric over the Rod Evans safe night space and said it had nine months to come up with a solution after the council first flagged the closure in February 2023 but former premier Mark McGowan decided not to.
“The then premier was asked if the government would consider funding the safe night space going forward. His answer was no,” Zempilas wrote on his X account (formerly Twitter) in December.
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“I will not allow history to be rewritten. And suggestions from Premier Roger Cook that the responsibility for the safe night space service not currently operating lies solely with the City of Perth,is simply not accurate.
“The state government could have taken this sort of proactive action anytime from February. They did not.”
On Saturday Carey announced he would provide St Patrick’s Fremantle $7.5 million to knock down lodging facilities at their current Queen Victoria Street facility and build 28 new social housing homes.
The money will go towards St Pat’s $12 million project to demolish the lodging facilities and replace it with social housing.
Carey said the decision was born from the government’s statewide plea for new community housing projects as WA grapples with a social housing shortage.
St Pat’s Fremantle chief executive officer Michael Piu said the money enabled them to build fit for purpose,long-term housing options,particularly for people who have experienced chronic homelessness.
Development approval has been granted for the proposed project,with St Pat’s planning to engage a builder mid-2024.